To Force the Enemy off the Sea

This is the story of the RAF anti-shipping Strike Wing based at North Coates in Lincolnshire, whose Beaufighters from 1943 attacked heavily defended German convoys transporting raw materials to Rotterdam.  During a little-known but hard-fought two-year campaign, the Wing succeeded in forcing the enemy's ships off the sea.

From the outset of the Second World War, it was clear that the supply of raw materials, in particular high grade iron ore from Scandinavia, would form a crucial element in Germany's ability to maintain its armaments production.  It was not until early 1943, however, after three years of heavy losses of aircraft and crews, that the RAF implemented an effective offensive capability against the heavily defended shipping convoys carrying iron ore and other raw materials into German-controlled ports.

This volume sets out the strategic challenge the RAF faced in the North Sea and describes the piecemeal and costly response effected during the first three years of the conflict when other threats and theatres claimed a higher strategic priority. It also explains changes in strategy and tactics introduced through the course of 1942 and chronicles many of the big Strikes and other operations launched by North Coates  from April 1943 onwards. Moreover, the 'balance sheet', examination of the anti-shipping campaign performance in general, and the North Coates Strike Wing in particular – vessels sunk, crews lost and the wider strategic impact are examined.

Most controversially, the authors suggest that Britain missed an important strategic opportunity in 1942. A larger, earlier deployment of Strike Wings, diverting even a small proportion of the enormous resources allocated to Bomber Command's bombing of German cities, might have had a greater impact on the Third Reich's industrial production and with fewer aircrew losses and none of the moral ambiguity associated with that controversial campaign. 

"An excellent account of one of the RAF’s ‘forgotten’ areas of operations, the attack on coastal convoys crucial to supplying the German industrial war machine.  The North Coates Wing, operating the robust and highly effective Beaufighter, pioneered the increasingly successful role of Coastal Command’s Strike Wings.  Losses were high against formidable anti-aircraft defences but the crews pressed on with great gallantry and achieved some spectacular successes. Based on excellent research and superbly illustrated, the authors have provided the air historian with a valuable insight into this specialised and highly effective aspect of air warfare in the Second World War." Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork, Royal Air Force Historical Society

"Plenty of illustrations throughout the book, with diagrams showing convoy arrangements, attack tactics and lots of archive images. With a lot of personal accounts and memories, it is helped not only with the official records, but also the personal notes of Dick Vimpany, father of one of the authors, John Vimpany, who served in the Strike Wing during the war, so some very personal connections within the story. An interesting read of a specialist unit within Coastal Command, and how priorities and capabilities changed over the course of the war. There is additional support data provided in the 4 appendices at the end of the book." Robin Buckland, Military Model Scene

"John Vimpany and his co-author and friend, David Boyd, are to be congratulated on producing such an interesting account.  It is a book which I can recommend without reservation as it lifts the lid on a little known aspect of the war conducted from the Home Front.  As I am currently assisting in the compilation of the second and third volumes of RAF Coastal Command Losses, I expect to be thumbing through the pages fairly regularly and hence, for me, this is a timely addition to my library." Wg Cdr Colin Cummings, RAF Historical Society Journal

“...the authors offer an assessment of the contributions of Coastal Command and, in particular, the North Coates Wing" The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation